Tomorrow

Summary: "What else do I have to live for?" "Tomorrow. Live for tomorrow."

Chapter 1

He didn’t go to her funeral, and that
sparked some interesting gossip amongst friends and relatives on her side, the
same friends and relatives who never accepted him as one of their own. They said he didn’t love her, never cared. They said he didn’t have enough decency to at
least pay his respects to the one who passed.
They said he was inhumane, a demon, the worst of the devils. They were all wrong.

He didn’t go to her funeral not because he
didn’t love her. It was because he did,
too much, in fact, that he couldn’t bear to see her – dignified, confident and
regal even in eternal sleep – enclosed in a marble container to be buried six
feet under. All that dirt and sand and
mud – it was unnerving. He couldn’t bear
to see her like that. He could not,
would not, will never accept it.

He sat solemnly in their – his – apartment, looking out of the
glass window, observing the city before him.
He did not cry, for his tears had already dried up when she was dying in
his arms, cold and pallid.

He cried out in agony.

“I
will protect you, I promise.” He wrapped
his arms around her, pressing her against his chest.

She
looked up at him, fire sparkling in her eyes as she grinned. “Thank you, but no.”

He
opened his mouth in protest, but she silenced him with a firm finger pressed to
his lips. “I can protect myself,
Connor. You know that.”

“But
still – ”

“I
don’t love you because of your abilities, Connor. I love you because you’re you, because you’re
still here despite everything, because you never lost faith in me.” She smiled, reaching out to touch his
cheek. “So no. Thank you, but no.”

He gave
her a stern glance, and she giggled in response. “Alright then, if you insist.” She placed a hand on his cheek. “Connor, we’ll protect each other.”

“Eva…”
Connor whispered. “I know…I know what
you can do, and I know that of all the women that are important to me, you, who
are most important, need my saving the least.
But I do not want to take chances, Eva.
I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you…

He was throwing a tantrum. It was very immature on his part, but he felt
like thrashing about. Besides, it was his home. It was his
mess. He screamed and yelled and
screamed again. Finally, when his voice
sounded rough and parched, he slumped against the wall, and he dragged his limp
body to the floor. He swore his tears
dried up just a minute ago, but he sobbed again when he felt the loneliness
haunting him in the atmosphere of their – his
– apartment.

I
will never be able to forgive myself, Eva…”

“Are
you sure about this, Eva?” He arched an eyebrow, tilting his head towards his
new wife as his hands busied themselves with carrying in the large boxes into
his – their –
apartment.

“About
what?” She spun towards him, sporting her huge lopsided grin that he loved so
much.

“About
moving into this apartment,” he said.
“Because – uh, compared to that penthouse suite your uncle suggested,
this is pretty…well, run down.”

“But
I don’t want that penthouse suite.” Her
expression turned into a grimace.
“Why? Do you want to move in
there?”

“No,
I love it here.” Connor shrugged. “But…wouldn’t your family make a fuss out of
this?”

“I
love this place,” Eva assured him, taking one of the boxes from his grasp and
setting it on the coffee table. “And who
cares what they
think? I mean, it’s not like this
apartment complex is in one of those ‘bad’ neighborhoods. This place is really decent, and I feel
homiest when I’m here.”

“Homiest?” He arched an eyebrow again, smirking.

“Well,
you know.” She could feel the blush
forming on her cheeks. “I mean…it’s not
like you
living here has anything to do with it!
This is just a really nice
apartment!”

He looked awful. He hadn’t shaved for weeks, and he stunk of
alcohol. The apartment was a bloody mess
with bottles and papers and scraps of everything all over the place. He didn’t cry as much anymore, but once in a
while, a tear would silently slide down his cheeks.

He drank day and night. He drank to forget, to numb the pain, to make
the hurt go away. It worked – for a while.
Then he’d turn somber, and he’d remember, and he’d start drinking
again. He fed himself with beer and
scotch and vodka and gin and tequila.
The only time he’d drag his behind out of the apartment was when he’d
buy more alcohol from the nearest convenience store. He’d pass out on the bed, the couch, the
floor, the bathtub, the closet or whichever furniture he could fit his body
into. The next day, he’d drink even more
to ease the hangovers and the killer headaches.
This was his life now.

“What
do you think the names of our children would be?” He asked casually as they lay
beside each other on their bed.

She
stopped typing on her laptop, a small smile on her face. She turned to him. “Why?
Do you want to have children?”

“If
you do.” He shrugged, grinning. “Nothing wrong with wanting, now is there?”

She
giggled, closing her laptop after saving her file. She placed the gadget on the bedside table,
and she laid her head on the pillows. “Stella.”

“Hm?”

“I’d
like our baby girl be named ‘Stella’,” she said sweetly.

“And
if it’s a boy?” His eyebrow arched
amusingly, his tone challenging.

“Caleb.” She rested her head on his shoulder and turned
her head towards him. “What do you
think?”

“Beautiful.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder,
bringing her closer to him and kissing her temple.

“What are you doing here?” He glared
at the newcomer who stared at him for a while then sighed.

“Just checking up on you,” she said,
looking around, slightly miffed with how messy his apartment looked and even
more so with how unkempt his appearance was.

He noticed her pursing of lips and glared
even more. “The hubby not with you?”

“You know that Luke is busy these
days…after...” She looked tired, so
tired, with eye bags haunting her eyes.
She looked old – older than he remembered. Too old to be less than thirty. “I had some free time in my hands, so I decided
to check up on you.”

“Thanks,” he said sarcastically.

“Connor, it’s been five months – ”

His eyes were like daggers, and his nose
flared up. “Stop! Don’t tell me what to do and what to
feel! You’re not the one who lost everything!”

“She was my best friend, Connor!” She
yelled exasperatedly. “She was like the
sister I never had, so don’t think for a second that you are the only one who lost someone important! Because I did too! Luke too!
You lost your wife, but Luke and I lost a sister!”

Connor’s eyes softened. “Kyra – ”

Kyra covered her face with both her hands,
sobbing uncontrollably. She sat on the
floor, shaking her head, and Connor noticed the swelling of her stomach. She looked up to him. “I was supposed to tell her that day…I was
supposed to take her out to lunch…ask her to be the godmother…and to…to name
our child…but then – but then – ”

“I’m sorry.” Connor staggered to his friend, collapsing on
the floor beside her and wrapped her in an embrace, trembling all the while. “I’m sorry…”

“She wanted our daughter to be named
Stella.” A tear slipped down Connor’s
cheek, and Kyra nodded before succumbing to her tears again.

“You’re
not regretting this yet?” He leaned in,
whispering in her ear as they swayed in the middle of the dance floor.

Eva
scoffed, an expression badly suited with her exquisite white gown and the
countless flowers adorning her head and arms. “Please, this is the best decision I have ever
made – well, sans the whole extravaganza.”

“I
can’t believe you’re still complaining about the make-over.” Connor chuckled. “You’re not going to make an exception for
our wedding?”

“My
tolerance level has a limit, you know,” Eva answered cheekily. “And besides, I’m sure you’d be very
satisfied with me in just a plain sundress.”

Connor
nodded, and then sighed. “Your…side of the family is staring.”

“They’re
kinda glaring, actually,” Eva pointed out, amused.

“You’re
making light of my situation, Sweetheart?” Connor narrowed his eyes at his
bride.

Eva
rolled her eyes then. “One would think
that you would’ve ignored them by now.
You know the only reason they’re here is for formality’s sake,
right? If I were to have my way, the
wedding ceremony would have you, me and the minister with Kyra and Luke as the
witnesses, and the reception would be dinner with just our friends.”

Connor
chuckled. “I’d like that.”

Eva
sighed. “Why can’t they all be like
Luke? If Mom and Dad hadn’t died so
early, everything would be much easier then without this brouhaha.”

“I
guess twin siblings understand each other more than any other blood related
relatives,” Connor said thoughtfully, bringing Eva closer to him, his eyes
landing on his now brother-in-law, Luke and Luke’s wife, Kyra.

“Connor, hey, can you hear me?” A man’s panicked voice was on the other
end. “Hey, answer me, please.”

“What do you care?” Connor felt angry
all of the sudden. He gripped the phone
tighter and brought it to his ear. “You
don’t know anything!”

“Connor, I do! Don’t you see?” Luke pleaded. His voice was shaking. “Please, Connor. Stop this.
Eva wouldn’t want you to be like this!”

“Eva…” Connor felt like a vortex opened, and it started
to suck him into a dark eternity. “Eva…”

“Connor, please listen to me,” Luke said.
“I know that she’s your wife, but she’s my sister too! You’re my
best friend, Connor, and I can’t just let you go on like this. Let me help. Let me
and Kyra help. We’ll get through
this, Connor. We will get through this together.”

But Luke’s words fell on deaf ears.

“Eva…”
Connor whispered, his voice all choked up.
He let the phone fall from his fingers.

“I’m
sorry I’m not like Kyra,” Connor said as he wiped his chin with a napkin. They were at a dinner party with his wife’s
side of the family, a dinner party which they were required to attend.

“Like
Kyra?” Eva snickered. “Do you think I’m
gay or something?”

“No,
of course not.” Connor rested his chin
on top of his clasped hands, observing Luke and Kyra talking to some of Eva and
Luke’s relatives. “It’s just…I’m sorry
my family background isn’t as…clean…as Kyra’s.”

“I
don’t care about family backgrounds…if you think I married you because I knew
it would spite those crazies regarding your background, then you’ve got a twisted sense
of marriage, my dear husband,” she arched an eyebrow, following his gaze to her
brother and sister-in-law. She tilted
her head, “Besides, I doubt Luke married Kyra for her family background.”

“You
know, you should really stop being so conscious about everything. If they can’t accept your past, then screw
them. The only acceptance that matters
is mine, isn’t it?” She stated pointedly.
“And for the record, just because you can’t change your past doesn’t
mean that your past can change who you are inside. You’re Connor, the man I love, the man I
married, the man who will forever be my husband.”

A
moment of silence between them ensued, and Eva continued, “Connor, you are the
kindest, bravest, most loyal man I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I
love you. Whatever happened before was
never in your hands, but still you overcame your demons, and I’m so proud of
you for that. They’re just too immature
to see through that darn past like I do.
Like Luke and Kyra do.” She gave
him a reassuring glance, caressing his cheek.
“So don’t mind them. They’re not important.”

“I’m not Luke, and I’m not Kyra, so I ain’t
gonna give you pity.” A leather jacket
clad man crossed his arms. “Look at you
– pathetic.”

The other man in the room gave a sharp
sigh, “Look, what’s done is done. She’s
gone. Eva is dead. There’s no point
mulling over it.”

Connor glared at him, and he started to
open his mouth.

“I lost my fiancée too, if you haven’t
forgotten.” The man narrowed his
eyes.

Connor swallowed, and he looked down at the
floor, closing his eyes. “I just…Finn – ”

“Come back to work,” Finn said, placing a
firm hand on Connor’s shoulder. “You
can’t change the past; you can only move on from it.”

“My
mother died at sunset,” she said, her eyes focusing on the dark horizon. “That’s why I look at the sunset as an end.”

Connor
intertwined his fingers with hers. “So,
that would mean that you look at the sunrise as a beginning then?”

“Yes,”
she whispered into the air, a ghost of a smile gracing her lips. “It reminds me that no matter how dark
everything is, there will always be light.
There will always be hope. There
will always be a tomorrow to look forward to.”

She
turned towards Connor. “Tomorrow. We will always have a tomorrow as long as the sun rises
every day. Always remember that.”

“Tomorrow,
huh?” Connor wrapped his arms around her
shoulders, resting his head against hers.

Tomorrow…

The word sang in his subconscious mind, and
his head ached in pain and loneliness.

What tomorrow was he to look forward to,
when the one sole reason he was still living was now gone?

“What
else do I have to live for, Eva?” He yelled.
“You’re gone…you’ve left me alone.
There’s nothing else for me to live for!”

“A
necklace? I’m a guy, Eva.” Connor arched an eyebrow, amused as Eva
brought out a maroon amulet hanging on a very thick string.

Eva
gave him a “whatever” look, and she rolled her eyes. “It’s a pendant, you
dolt.”

“And
again, I’m a guy.” Connor teased her
with that annoying smirk of his that Eva always found endearing, until now
anyway.

“It’s
for luck,” Eva said knowingly. “For the
marriage, and for my husband-to-be who isn’t in the room, I’m afraid. Have you seen him by any chance?”

“Haha,
very funny.”

“You
started it.”

“Fine,
I’m guilty.” Connor raised both his
hands in exasperation but then lovingly wrapped them around his fiancée’s waist. “So, what’s with the pendant?”

Eva
smiled. “It’s supposed to bring luck to whomever
wears it, and it’s kind of like tradition that the heiress give it to the one she
is going to spend the rest of her life with.
You can say it’s a family heirloom of sorts.”

“You
never know,” Eva pointed out, almost scolding Connor. “Mom gave this to Dad before they got
married.” Eva released herself from
Connor’s grip and lovingly placed the pendant around his neck, caressing his
cheek afterwards. “Now, it’s yours.”

“Thank
you.” Connor held her hands in his.
“This means a lot to me.”

“Keep
it with you always,” Eva whispered, bringing her lips close to his. “And remember that I will always be with you
and love you…”

“Always,”
Connor whispered back before kissing her.

“Luck?” Connor said scathingly, ripping the
pendant from his neck, throwing it to God knows where. “What kind of luck is this?!”

He let out a muffled sob, and he buried his
face in his hands, curling on the bed into a fetal position. “Eva…Eva…Eva…”

He opened his eyes and gasped. “Eva!”

She was there, lying beside him on their – his – bed. She was smiling at him, her face radiant –
not that she wasn’t radiant before. It’s
just, now, she was shining and glowing; she looked like an angel. She is
an angel, Connor realized.

He was gasping, panting for breath. He felt his chest for a familiar pendant, and
he found it gone. He searched for it
frantically, “Eva, Eva, Eva…”

When he finally found it under his desk, he
wrapped his fist tightly around the pendant his late wife gave him, and he sat
at the edge of the bed. A tear slid down
his cheek as he faced the window where the golden sun started to rise from the
darkness. He felt someone sit beside him
on the bed, a head gently resting on his shoulder.

“Eva…”

“I’m here…” she whispered.

“What else do I have to live for, Eva?”
Connor asked brokenly, sobbing. He
closed his eyes. “You’re gone – there’s
nothing left to live for.”

“It’s the future, Connor. A new day, a new hope.” Eva gently turned his
face toward hers with her hands.
“Tomorrow.”

“Will you…will you be there with me? Will you stay with me?” Connor asked her, his
voice nothing more than a murmur.

“Always.
Just remember, my love – tomorrow.” Her voice was a whisper. She placed a hand on Connor’s clenched fist,
easing it to relax, and she repeated the last word over and over, her voice
fading in the still room, until it disappeared completely.

Connor slowly and hesitantly stood up. He slumped back down on the bed. It seemed like something was holding him
back, but finally, he was able to stand his ground. He tied the pendant around his neck, and he
felt the cold metal lying against his skin.
It was a familiar coolness on his warm flesh. He closed his eyes. “Tomorrow,” he said.

He opened his eyes, looking towards the
rising sun, looking towards tomorrow.

He
felt someone bump against him, and then he felt something really hot soaking
through his shirt. He bit back a curse,
and rightfully so, as the culprit was a beautiful woman with big round eyes and
an angelic face which looked quite stricken with what she’s done.

“Oh
my!” She exclaimed. “I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to – I didn’t see where I was
going!”

He
was transfixed by her beauty then. No,
it wasn’t her beauty that entranced him.
It was her innocence, her naivety.
Living in a cruel and harsh reality, he learned to appreciate the good
things in life, the innocent and the pure things. She was one of the innocent and pure things in
his life, he’d later realize – the most important of all the innocent and pure
things, rather.

“Uh,
n-no…I – I didn’t see…either.” He
managed to stammer out.

“I’m
really, so very sorry!” The woman took out a handkerchief and started dabbing
the cloth at his shirt. “God, I’m such a
klutz! Oh, it’ll stain!”

He
was getting really flustered at this point, having taken note of the fact that
they were on a sidewalk where people were gawking at them. He caught her wrist in his hand, and a tingle
ran up his spine. He paused, and he
stared at her. She stared at him too.

It
was an awkward moment.

“I – uh,”
he started. “It’s fine. No harm done.”

“B-but…”
the girl stuttered. “Let me make it up
to you! At least let me do that!”

He
released his hold on her. “It’s
okay. It’s no big deal!”

“I
insist! Please?” She looked like a lost
puppy. That did him in.

“Then
why don’t you treat me to coffee tomorrow?” He told her.

“Huh? Coffee?” She asked in surprise. “You sure you don’t want me to buy you a new
shirt?”

“Just
coffee will do.” He smiled at her
tenderly.

“Oh,
okay.” She nodded enthusiastically. “Why don’t we meet here tomorrow then? At three in the afternoon?”

“Sounds
good to me.” He grinned.

“Alright
then.” She took one step backward, and
he noticed the fire in her eyes, the fire he’d grow to fall in love with. “Oh!
I’m Eva, by the way. Eva
Brandon.”

“Connor
Lincoln.” He took out a hand, and she
grasped it in a firm shake. “A
pleasure.”

“Well
then, Connor.” Eva smiled the smile
Connor would learn to love in the years to come. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Connor
nodded, amused with the whole situation.
He smiled the widest he’s ever smiled in the longest time. “Tomorrow.”

Write a Review
Did you enjoy my story? Please let me know what you think by leaving a review! Thanks,
AlySimmons

gabita123mb:
This story kept me up all night and the plot was great. I love how the author keep going with the story even though she was not interested in writing it anymore, but you may think "so as she didn't want to continue with it, it might be bad" Nooo is the complete opposite is such a beautiful book a...

alice:
Ok, so at first I didn't like it and didn't really want to like it either, because I thought it was going to be like all the other sexist-werewolf-arranged-marriage stories, with characters that don't actually have a character or opinion. But this one starts off the way but after only a few chapt...

VictimOfMyFeelings:
This story is too amazing. Every single detail is spectacular. The plot is very detailed and well planned. The writing style is powerful and at the same time easy to understand. Not to mention that it is edited and doesn’t have grammar mistakes.

Sarah Kennedy:
Couldn't put it down once started reading! Loved it so much ❤ def worth reading and so are her other books as this is the 3rd book of hers I've read and can't wait to read the rest! Very talented indeed

Brittani Nicole Case:
Your summary of the story is what got me to read it. You have a way with words and with humor. I didn't really see the strong-willed version of Cordelia. When I think of a strong-willed female character the very first one to pop in my head is Buffy Sommers (There is no stronger-willed female than...

Madeline2911:
This is the second time I have this story and I have fallen in love with it all over again. I just can't get enough of your books. They are well written and the plot is developed really well. Please continue writing!

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